The Grim Reaper's Banquet (2) Part 2

After a full day of travel, Lin Banxia was also a bit tired. After a quick wash-up, he called for Song Qingluo to sleep.

Song Qingluo grunted in agreement, changed his clothes, and lay down next to Lin Banxia.

“What should we do first tomorrow?” It was Lin Banxia's first time doing this kind of thing, so he had no experience.

“The people are dead,” Song Qingluo said. “The bodies should still be there. Let’s go check on the bodies first.”

Lin Banxia said, “True.”

Song Qingluo said, “Go to sleep.”

Lin Banxia closed his eyes, feeling Song Qingluo's breathing gradually even out beside him. This was the first time the two of them had lain in the same bed. For some reason, he, who was usually a sound sleeper, felt a little nervous. He thought about it carefully and attributed it to the strange new environment, which was why he couldn't sleep. The sound of the rain outside was pattering loudly, showing no sign of stopping. Lin Banxia's consciousness gradually blurred, and he finally sank into darkness.

A dreamless night passed. The next day, the torrential rain was still falling.

When he woke up in the morning, Song Qingluo was already gone from his side. Lin Banxia quickly got dressed and went to the main hall. Sure enough, Song Qingluo was sitting in a corner of the hall eating breakfast. Seeing that he was awake, he even greeted him.

“You bought these?” Lin Banxia picked up a biscuit and started munching on it with relish.

“Yeah,” Song Qingluo said. “I just asked the Village Chief where the dead are kept. He said they're in the wasteland at the east end of the village and told us to be careful when we go over, and to try not to run into any villagers.”

Lin Banxia said, “What’s the deal with this village’s structure anyway?”

Song Qingluo said, “I don’t know. We’ll have to walk around a couple of times.”

As the two were talking, He Huai'an and Mou Xinsi also arrived. Both had dark circles under their eyes and looked like they hadn't slept well. Seeing the dry biscuits, they had no appetite and reluctantly forced down a couple of bites.

“You two go figure out the general layout of the village. He and I will go to the graveyard on the east side.” Song Qingluo assigned the tasks. “Try to avoid people. The Village Chief said it’s raining heavily outside, so the villagers probably won’t be out.”

“Okay,” He Huai'an replied.

Mou Xinsi also nodded.

“How did you sleep last night?” Song Qingluo asked.

“Not bad,” He Huai'an answered with a wry smile.

“I kept feeling like there was something outside the window,” Mou Xinsi said in a low voice. “It kept running back and forth...”

Song Qingluo looked at He Huai'an. “Did you hear it?”

He Huai'an shook his head.

Song Qingluo said, “Even if you didn’t hear it, be a little more careful. When you go into the village later, make your personal safety the top priority. If things look wrong, run immediately, understand?”

He Huai'an and Mou Xinsi said “okay” in unison.

Lin Banxia stood to the side, enjoying his biscuit. But seeing that the other three had stopped eating, he felt a bit embarrassed, stuffed the last piece into his mouth, and said indistinctly, “Okay then, let’s go.”

Song Qingluo put on his raincoat and rain boots, grabbed an umbrella, and then left with Lin Banxia. He Huai'an and Mou Xinsi headed west, while they headed east. The two teams went in opposite directions.

The rain was quite heavy, and not a single person could be seen on the village roads. The longer they walked, the scarcer the surrounding buildings became, and the path under their feet gradually grew overgrown.

Halfway there, Lin Banxia, who was focused on walking, was suddenly pulled by Song Qingluo. He was startled and turned to look at Song Qingluo. “What is it?”

Song Qingluo said, “Did you hear something?”

Lin Banxia frowned. “What sound?”

Song Qingluo raised his index finger in a hushing gesture.

Lin Banxia stopped talking and listened intently. Sure enough, amid the pattering rain, he heard faint music. The most prominent sound in the music was the piercing sound of a suona, accompanied by the beating of gongs and drums, playing a shrill dirge. The music was getting closer, right behind them.

Song Qingluo and Lin Banxia exchanged a look and tacitly found a place to hide in the nearby bushes.

About a minute or two later, a dozen or so people appeared before them. They were all dressed in white mourning clothes. The few people in front were playing the dirge, while the dozen behind them carried coffins. At first, Lin Banxia thought it was just an ordinary funeral procession, but he soon realized this procession was unusual because there were too many coffins—

One, two, three. The coffins were of various sizes and colors. The figures of the people in white were blurred in the rain as they firmly shouldered the seemingly heavy caskets. They carried coffin after coffin, slowly walking past Lin Banxia.

The sound of the dirge gradually faded into the distance, but the procession of coffin bearers seemed endless.

Lin Banxia and Song Qingluo stood hidden behind a tree, watching this bizarre scene.

After waiting for an unknown amount of time, they finally saw the last coffin. It was a black casket, carried by a few skinny young men. They braved the rain, treading on the muddy path, carefully moving forward step by step. Just as they were about to pass in front of Lin Banxia, an accident suddenly happened.

The young man at the very front seemed to trip on something and fell to the ground. The people behind him couldn't react in time. The heavy coffin instantly lost its balance and slammed down hard on his waist. The coffin was extremely heavy, crushing the man's waist into the ground. The young man let out a blood-curdling scream and began to spit out mouthfuls of blood. In an instant, he was almost breathless.

The others, disregarding everything else, shouted and yelled as they forcefully dragged the coffin off the young man. Who would have known that the coffin lid wasn't properly secured; with a heave from a few people, it came loose from the coffin. The moment the lid fell off, a round object rolled to a stop not far from Lin Banxia. Before he could react, he felt Song Qingluo's cold hand cover his mouth from behind.

“Don’t scream,” Song Qingluo said softly. After saying this, he realized Lin Banxia was different from ordinary people and let go, adding helplessly in a low voice, “Sorry, it’s a habit.”

Lin Banxia blinked to show it was okay. He lowered his gaze and saw the object in its entirety. It was a human head. It was impossible to tell how long it had been dead, but it was already rotten beyond recognition. Its protruding, ghastly white eyes stared lifelessly in Lin Banxia's direction.

A clamor erupted from the crowd. People finally moved the coffin aside and saw the young man's lower body. A moment of silence fell over the crowd, followed by cries of despair: “Another one gone, another one gone!!”

Although they were far away, Lin Banxia could still see the young man's tragic state. His waist and lower body had been smashed in two by the coffin. His upper body was vomiting blood, while his lower half was still struggling and twitching incessantly. The scene was horrifying to the extreme, yet the crowd was only agitated for a moment before calming down.

The people seemed numb as they began to quickly clean up the scene. The one who came to retrieve the head was a young girl in mourning clothes. She woodenly picked up the rotten head from the ground, not even forgetting to wipe off the mud staining it.

“Ruonan, come back quickly.” Someone in the crowd waved at the girl.

The girl hummed in acknowledgment, carefully carried the head back, and placed it back inside the coffin. Her practiced movements, as if she had experienced this hundreds of times, and her calm demeanor were inexplicably terrifying.

The author has something to say:

Lin Banxia: Why did you cover my mouth?

Song Qingluo: I was afraid you'd scream.

Lin Banxia: I would never scream.

Song Qingluo: Really?

Lin Banxia: Real— AHHHHH, DON'T TAKE MY MONEY, I'M BEGGING YOU AHHHH!!!

Song Qingluo: Doesn't that sound quite nice?

Lin Banxia: QAQ Are you the devil???

Song Qingluo and Lin Banxia are both Watchers, and their two partners are the Recorders. To explain, Watchers are the ones who handle things, while Recorders cooperate and record events. That should make it easier to understand~

Hahahaha, as for why Song Qingluo is also poor, that will be explained later